Personnel Updates

• Gap Inc.(232) announced the appointment of Mary Beth Laughton as President and CEO of Athleta.

• JCPenney Company, Inc. (68) announced that Laurie Wilson will join the company as Senior VP, Planning and Allocation and Pricing. The retailer also announced that Brooke Buchanan will join the company as Senior VP, Communications and Robin Beuthin as VP, Creative Marketing.

• Kohl’s Corporation (78) said that Bruce Besanko will retire at the end of the fiscal year and will step down as CFO, effective Nov. 1. He will be succeeded by Jill Timm, currently Kohl’s Exec VP of Finance.

• Nike Inc. (140) announced Mark Parker will step down as CEO in January 2020. He will be replaced by John Donahoe.

• Nordstrom Inc. (154) has named Ken Worzel as COO, a newly created position for the retailer.

• Shoe Carnival, Inc. (54) announced that Cliff Sifford, in addition to continuing to serve as CEO, also assumed the role of Vice Chairman and relinquished the President title. Mark Worden was promoted to the position of President and Chief Customer Officer. Tim Baker was appointed to the newly created position of Exec VP, Chief Retail Operations Officer. Kerry Jackson was named Senior Exec VP, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer and Treasurer.

• Tilly’s Co. (35) announced Tricia D. Smith is now serving as Exec VP and Chief Merchandising Officer. In other news, Michael L. Henry has been promoted to the title of Exec VP, CFO.

• Under Armour Inc. (57) announced its founder and CEO Kevin Plank will step down from the role in January 2020.The company’s President, Patrik Frisk, will take over.

Financial Focus

• Forever 21 officially announced it has filed for bankruptcy protection. The retailer secured $300 million in funds to restructure.

• Hudson’s Bay Company has agreed to be taken private by a group of its shareholders.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. said it will sell eight Field & Stream stores to Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings Inc. The deal is expected to close this month and includes locations in MI, NC, NY, PA, and WA.

• Walmart Stores Inc. is selling ModCloth, Inc. to Go Global Retail. The deal is expected to close later this year. Go Global said that ModCloth will continue to operate as a freestanding, independent brand out of its current operational set up.

• VSP Global has completed the acquisition of Visionworks of America Inc., which operates more than 700 stores in nearly 40 states.

Industry Insight

• The Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc. announced it will relaunch Gymboree.com and add Gymboree shops inside 200 of its stores across the U.S. and Canada in 2020.

• Lululemon Athletica Inc. said it will close its remaining Ivivva kids stores as it focuses its efforts on its expanding core and men’s businesses.

• The TJX Companies Inc. has unveiled its new Marshalls e-commerce website. The online and mobile site marks Marshalls’ official entry into e-commerce.

• Uniqlo has opened its first retail store in India. The three level, the 35,000 sq. ft. store opened in at the DLF Ambience mall in Vasant Kunj. Two additional Indian outposts are in the pipeline for development in New Delhi.

Real Estate

• Allbirds has revealed plans to open 20 new stores. The retailer is slated to operate a total of 35 stores by the end of 2020, with openings planned in new markets including Atlanta, Dallas and Denver.

• Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. will open five namesake stores and two Golf Galaxy stores in October.

• Eloquii Design Inc. has revealed plans to open a new 2,500 sq. ft. store at Lenox Square in Atlanta, GA.

• Forever 21 announced it plans to close 178 U.S. stores after filing for bankruptcy protection.

• Indochino Inc. just opened its 50th store location, a 2,700 sq. ft. space in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC. Additional stores are slated to open in Cleveland, OH, and and New Orleans, LA, in the coming month.

• Macy’s Inc. announced it will close its store location in downtown Seattle in February 2020.

• Nordstrom, Inc. announced it plans to open its first Nordstrom Rack store in Tacoma, WA, at Tacoma Mall. The 30,000 sq. ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2020. The retailer recently unveiled a 140,000 sq. ft. full-line store in Norwalk, CT.

• Ross Stores Inc. has announced the opening of 42 new stores across 19 states this fall. The openings include the addition of 30 Ross Dress for Less locations as well as 12 dd’s Discounts stores.

• Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. has announced the rollout of eight new locations coinciding with the company’s recent acquisition of Field & Stream stores. Averaging nearly 50,000 sq. ft. each, the new stores have debuted in markets in NY, NC, MI and PA.

• Stage Stores Inc. will close about 40 stores during fiscal 2020 as part of a plan to convert to its off-price Gordmans banner.

• Von Maur Inc. announced it will open an 85,000 sq. ft. store at West Towne Mall in Madison, WI, in fall 2021.

October 28, 2019at 12:10 pm

Natasha Perry
Natasha has held several management positions in the apparel industry. She received her Bachelor's degree in Marketing Management from Florida Southern College.
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